St James’ Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, and children in the early years, love being members of this caring and friendly school.

Their well-being is at the heart of all aspects of the school's work. Pupils know that staff are always there to talk to. They appreciate the many opportunities that they have to discuss their feelings, views and concerns.

Through their roles as 'peer mentors', pupils help to look after the well-being of others at lunchtimes. Pupils unanimously said that the school is a happy and safe place to be.

Pupils behave well.

They benefit from a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons and around the school. Pupils value the rewards that they receive in recognitio...n of their positive learning behaviours. This includes having 'tea at three' with staff.

Pupils feel honoured to be members of the 'pupil voice groups'. They take their responsibilities seriously and are proud of the difference they make to the school and to the local community. For example, in their roles as 'courageous advocates', pupils raised money for charities.

Pupils strive to live up to the school's high expectations for their personal and academic achievement. Pupils achieve well across a broad curriculum.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils, and children in the early years, access a rich and engaging curriculum.

In the main, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn and has ordered this logically from the Reception class to Year 6. However, in some areas of the early years curriculum, this process is still being refined. In these aspects of learning, the knowledge that children should learn has not been identified precisely enough.

This makes it difficult for the school to check that the curriculum in the early years is consistently building on what children know and can do.

The school identifies and meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Staff attend training and work closely with a range of professionals to ensure that pupils receive effective, individualised support.

The school ensures that adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum are made to enable pupils to progress well through the curriculum.

The curriculum is delivered well by staff. Activities enable pupils to deepen their learning and to apply their skills.

In most subjects, the school makes precise checks on how well pupils are learning, which helps staff to identify any gaps in their knowledge. However, in a small number of subjects, the school is at an earlier stage of developing these processes. In these subjects, the current processes do not enable the school to effectively identify how securely pupils are building their knowledge.

The school fosters a love of reading and ensures that pupils develop the skills to be able to read fluently. Pupils, and children in the early years, access a wide range of books. They value the daily opportunities that they have to hear teachers read to them.

The school's phonics programme helps pupils to rapidly learn the sounds and letters that they need to begin to read. The school provides effective support to help pupils to catch up quickly when they find reading difficult. Typically, pupils achieve well in reading from their starting points.

Pupils at St James' are enthusiastic and confident learners. They are keen to contribute their ideas in lessons and take pride in their work. Children in the early years develop their independence and resilience as staff encourage them to problem-solve.

The school has high expectations for pupils' attendance. It has developed a range of strategies to ensure that parents and carers understand the impact of not attending school on their child's learning. The school identifies the causes of any absence and takes effective action to improve pupils' rates of attendance.

The school supports pupils' personal development. It builds positive relationships with parents right from the transition processes into the Reception class, which supports children to quickly feel safe and settled. Pupils enjoy attending a range of clubs, such as art, baking, choir and sports.

They learn how to keep themselves safe from potential hazards, including online. Pupils have a clear understanding of the school's values and how they link to the fundamental British values. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Governors have ensured that they have supported the school and considered staff's well-being and workload during the recent changes in leadership at St James'. They know the school well and hold leaders to account across all aspects of the school's work effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some areas of learning in the early years, the curriculum is not broken down into the components of knowledge that children should learn. This makes it difficult for the school to ensure that the delivery of the curriculum helps pupils to build on previous learning. The school should continue its work to refine the early years curriculum so that it is clear how children's learning will build securely and will prepare them well for Year 1.

• In some subjects, the school's checks on how well pupils are learning are not as precise as they could be. This means that the school is not able to effectively evaluate the impact of the curriculum on pupils' progress, or to use the information gained from this to inform subsequent learning. The school should ensure that assessment systems enable staff to fully understand how well pupils are learning the curriculum across all subjects.